Japan will stick to non-nuclear principles: Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that Japan would stick to its "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" and was not planning to possess nuclear weapons.

Abe made the remarks in response to a question about the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday. "I am not thinking of changing the principles (Three Non-Nuclear Principles) at all," the prime minister said.

The principles, approved by parliament in 1971, state that Japan will not produce, possess or allow nuclear weapons into its territory.

Abe said the DPRK should take responsibility for all consequences if it took further provocative action.

The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency said on Monday morning that the country had successfully conducted its first-ever underground nuclear test.

Source: Xinhua